Sri Lanka bombings: 215 confirmed dead, several arrested

AAP

AAP

Monday, 22 April 2019 8:35 am

Sri Lanka bombing

Several arrested over bomb blasts in Sri Lanka that left 207 dead.Credit: AAP

Easter Day bomb blasts at Sri Lankan churches and luxury hotels have killed at least 215 people and wounding at least 450 people after a lull in major attacks since the end of the civil war 10 years ago.

In just one church, St Sebastian's in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo, more than 50 people had been killed, a police official told Reuters, with pictures showing bodies on the ground, blood on the pews and a destroyed roof.

Eight people have been arrested, and three police officers were killed during a security forces raid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital several hours after the attacks, many of which were suicide bomb explosions, officials said.

Sri Lanka's defence minister has ordered a night curfew to take effect from 6 pm to 6 am. The government has shut down access to some social media and messaging services to prevent misinformation and rumours.

Six near-simultaneous bombings have hit three churches and three tourist hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.Image: AAP

Media reported 25 people were also killed in an attack on a church in Batticaloa in Eastern Province.

The three hotels hit were the Shangri-La Colombo, Kingsbury Hotel and Cinnamon Grand Colombo. It was unclear whether there were any casualties in the hotels.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009 during which bomb blasts in the capital were common.

Up to 32 of the dead were foreigners, including five British people, two of whom had dual US citizenship, and three Indians, according to officials in those countries.

Also among the fatalities were three people from Denmark, two from Turkey, and one from Portugal, officials said. There were also Chinese and Dutch among the dead, according to media reports.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said US nationals were among those killed, but did not give details. There are 25 unidentified bodies, believed to be of foreigners, at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer's mortuary, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said.

There was carnage in multiple churches.Image: Hiru TV via AAPOne of the bombs detonated at St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, a famous Roman Catholic church.Image: AP

Prime minister responds

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called a national security council meeting at his home for later in the day.

"I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong," he said in a tweet.

"Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation."

The prime minister confirmed that the government had some "prior information of the attack" though ministers were not told.

Agence France Presse reported that it had seen documents showing that Sri Lanka's police chief Pujuth Jayasundara issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10 days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit "prominent churches". He cited a foreign intelligence service as reporting that a little-known Islamist group was planning attacks.

He said there wasn't an adequate response and there needed to be an inquiry into how the information was used. He also said the government needs to look at the international links of a local militant group.

Sri Lankan army soldiers secure the area around St. Anthony's Shrine after a blast in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2019.Image: AAP

One of the explosions was at St Anthony's Church in Kochcikade, Colombo.

St. Sebastian's church posted pictures of destruction inside the church on its Facebook page, showing blood on pews and the floor, and requested help from the public.

Religious violence

Last year, there were 86 verified incidents of discrimination, threats and violence against Christians, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), which represents more than 200 churches and other Christian organisations.

This year, the NCEASL recorded 26 such incidents.

Out of Sri Lanka's total population of around 22 million, 70 per cent are Buddhist, 12.6 per cent Hindu, 9.7 per cent Muslim, and 7.6 per cent Christian, according to the country's 2012 census.

Pope Francis responds

Pope Francis at Easter massImage: AAP

During his Easter Sunday message, Pope Francis said:

“I learned with sadness and pain of the news of the grave attacks, that precisely today, Easter, brought mourning and pain to churches and other places where people were gathered in Sri Lanka". “I wish to express my affectionate closeness to the Christian community, hit while it was gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence.”